Shows that were cancelled...then came back

[dawsongirl]

Family Guy coming back to TV with new episodes made me wonder...besides that show, were there ever any shows that were cancelled, then maybe a couple years later, came back as essentially the same show (or at least with the same characters)?

[Dr. Jazz]

Mama's Family
Charles in Charge
Too Close for Comfort
non-sitcoms:
Fame
Hunter

[PZelda]

Originally posted by Dr. Jazz
Mama's Family

You beat me to it. :cuss:




;)

Didn't "Designing Women" do the same? Um, hold on. I'm really not sure where I heard about it. I think it was used as a question on Hollywood Squares last season...and DW was the answer...

[tvparadise]

Baywatch.

Baywatch originally aired on NBC from 1989 - 1990. Although it did ok, the network cancelled it. The producers felt one of the main reasons that it failed on NBC was because the network was making them take the show in a wrong direction (murder mystery stories). A year later, they were able to bring the show back in syndication largely due to David Hasselhoff's fame over seas. Not all the cast returned due to pay cutbacks- but Hasselhoff, Billy Warlock, and Erika Eleniak did. After the first season in syndication Billy and Erika did not return because they were not happy with their new salaries (they were getting a lot more when it was on NBC). Their departures led to the addition of Nicole Eggert, David Charvet, Alexandra Paul, and Pamela Anderson. And the rest is history.

[spunkygirl]

JAG NBC cancelled it, CBS picked it up and the rest is history

Silk Stalkings, I think it was cancelled by CBS, then USA Network picked it up and it ran for six more years :D

[Kitt]

Diff'rent Strokes was cancelled by one network and then picked up by another, but they didn't miss a season. I really can't think of any that came back after two seasons or so.

[TV Guy]

"It's a Living" was out of production for three years before it was revived for first-run syndication.

It was not uncommon for shows in the 1980s to restart production after a season or two off the air and air new episodes in first-run syndication.

There are a lot of examples of shows that were cancelled by one network and then picked up by another, but those shows never went out of production. It's more rare for a show to be off for a few years and then return, especially on one of the networks. "Family Guy" and "Hunter" are the only instances I can think of. "Make Room for Daddy" comes close -- six years after it was cancelled, it returned with a new title ("Make Room for Granddaddy") but basically the same cast and format.

[Kitt]

Maybe Mayberry RFD taking over for The Andy Griffith Show falls into the category that this thread is about?

[Dr. Jazz]

Webster
Silver Spoons
Taxi switched networks, but can't remember if it was actually "cancelled"

[Dean Winchester]

wasn't Touched By An Angel cancelled by CBS at the end of the 1994-1995 season, and then they brought it back as a "filler series" the next season (since CBS was doing terribly at the moment) but then it clicked and ran on for 8 more years.

[James"Thunder"Early]

one is probably the worst and most embarrsing sitcom ever We Got it Made

[barwars]

The Dick Van Dyke Show was cancelled after the first season, but when it got Emmy-attenion, CBS rethought their decision and the rest is TV history.

[jamesanthony]

Not quite fitting into this question, but Cagney and Lacey was cancelled in the spring of 1983 then came back in early 84 and ran until 88. Homocide had 9 episodes in early 1993 then 4 more in mid1994. NBC wanted to see how they would do (I guess they only ordered 13). They must've been significantly impressed by the ratings of the 4 because it returned and ran for 5 more seasons starting in the fall of 1994.

[jamesanthony]

Originally posted by barwars
The Dick Van Dyke Show was cancelled after the first season, but when it got Emmy-attenion, CBS rethought their decision and the rest is TV history.

I read that somewhere (maybe on one of these boards?). Carl Reiner flew to NY to beg the sponsors to put it back on because it was ranked at #80 (that must have been near the very bottom back then). It didn't get major emmy attention until year 2 though when it came on after Beverly Hillbillies. In year one Reiner won a writing award and I think the director was nominated but none of the actors were nor was the series itself. Back then comedy and drama series actors competed with each other; if they didn't I guess this series would have won a lot more prizes though it won more than any other sitcom until the Mary Tyler Moore Show and All in the Family era.

[spunkygirl]

What about Sabrina the Teenage Witch? Wasn't it technically cancelled by ABC, then the WB picked up the show for the continuation of it's run. :)

[Dean Winchester]

WB cancelled Roswell at the end of the 2000-2001 season, but UPN gave it one more season as part of their package with Fox when they bought out the rights to Buffy from The WB.

[stella]

There are quite a few game shows that were revived after a long hiatus. Often when they are revived, the host is not the same which usually contributes to a fast decline:

1. Tic Tac Dough
2. Let's Make a Deal
3. Who Wants to be a Millionaire
4. The Weakest Link

[factsoflife]

Yes "Designing Women" had been officially canceled by CBS after an inital run of 13 episodes in 1986. However due to a large fan protest the series was renewed by the network and ran until 1992 or 1993.

[dawsongirl]

Originally posted by TV Guy
"Make Room for Daddy" comes close -- six years after it was cancelled, it returned with a new title ("Make Room for Granddaddy") but basically the same cast and format.

I thought of that one while I was trying to fall asleep last night.

[Heather987]

Do these count?

Whats Happening
Whats Happening Now

Saved By The Bell
Saved The New Class
Saved The College Years

Was Party of Five Cancelled or just close to it?

Golden Girls
Golden Palace

[Dean Winchester]

Originally posted by Heather987
Do these count?

Golden Girls
Golden Palace

I wouldn't consider that one. When GG ended in 1992, it was still a top 30 series, Bea Arthur just wanted to move on, and then CBS wanted to keep the franchise going without Bea, hense Golden Palace.

[factsoflife]

Party Of Five was canceled in its first season but was brought back due to intense fan protest.

[PZelda]

Originally posted by factsoflife
Yes "Designing Women" had been officially canceled by CBS after an inital run of 13 episodes in 1986. However due to a large fan protest the series was renewed by the network and ran until 1992 or 1993.

I can't find anything about the DW cancellation...when I looked @ the TVTome Episode List for DW, the seasons seemed to blend together....and they had 22 eps the 1986-87 season...so now I'm confused.

[treky]

Originally posted by Dr. Jazz
Webster
Silver Spoons
Taxi switched networks, but can't remember if it was actually "cancelled" yes, "Taxi" was cannceled by ABC, but then was picked up by HBO, then after complaints from Danny DeVito, NBC revived it instead.

I remember, after ABC canncelled it, Danny DeVito hosted "Saturday Night Live" and used it as a "platform" to voice his protests againt ABCs move. He had on the entire cast, then the opening sketch showed him shooting out the window of the president of ABC, then at the end of the show, he brought his mother out, and she cursed out ABC in italian.

[spunkygirl]

Originally posted by Heather987
Do these count?

Whats Happening
Whats Happening Now

Saved By The Bell
Saved The New Class
Saved The College Years

Was Party of Five Cancelled or just close to it?

Golden Girls
Golden Palace

Wouldn't those be considered spinoffs more than anything? Cause SBTB The New Class only had Screech from the original, so it's considered a spinoff same with The College Years it's a spin off as well :)

[PZelda]

Originally posted by Angela Micelli
Wouldn't those be considered spinoffs more than anything? Cause SBTB The New Class only had Screech from the original, so it's considered a spinoff same with The College Years it's a spin off as well :)

That is correct :) Spinoffs are different from shows getting cancelled and then coming back. :lol:

[spunkygirl]

Originally posted by PZelda
That is correct :) Spinoffs are different from shows getting cancelled and then coming back. :lol:

:lol: Yeah they're def. not the same ;) SBTB The New Class and The College Years are separate series than SBTB, so was Golden Palace :)

[ramuno]

Unlike "Make Room for Gandaddy," most sitcoms that were cancelled and then when into syndication did so the very next year.

This was the case with "Charles in Charge" and "Too Close for Comfort." They each had around an 18 rating on their network runs. Now, that would qualify them for the top ten but at the time was grounds for cancellation. The owners of each show rightfully thought that was more than enough of an audience for syndication.

One more game show that came back after being cancelled is "Jeopardy!" NBC brought it back for a short time with the original host Art Flemming, years after it went off. Later the current syndicated version began.

[G-Force Glockstar]

Star Search

[vze3t9q9]

Actually tv shows in the 5o's you could say were cancelled. I prefer to say picked by another network. Father KNows best and Leave to Beaver are two.

If you say shows cancelled and revived by the same network the first one that pops into my head was Designing Women. People wrote in to say Keep it on the air. Funny to say I didn't think much of the show.

[treky]

"Cagney & Lacey" was cannceled by CBS after its first season, but then people objected, so they brought it back.

"Star Trek" was also cancelled by NBC after the first season, but was also brought back when viewers protested. The same thing happened after the 2nd season.

Fox cancelled "Americas Most Wanted" after, I think, 4 episodes in 1986, but then, not only viewers protested, but also law enforcment officals and the mayors of 4 counties. So they brought it back a month later as "Americas Most Wanted: America Fights Back" in the same sunday night timeslot-and it's been there ever since.